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Common Questions

Why is the Brookhaven Development Authority considering issuing bonds for Children’s?

As part of our community investment agreement with Brookhaven, Children’s agreed to issue at least $400 million in bonds. Working with the Brookhaven Development Authority allows Children’s to issue tax exempt bonds and allows the service fees from those bonds paid to the development authority to be reinvested in the local community. The bonds will be structured in such a way that the community and local taxpayers will never be responsible for the bonds, and it will help fund construction of our new hospital and campus.

Will the community be liable for repayment of the bonds?

No. The community will not be responsible for repayment of the bonds in any way. The bonds are guaranteed by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, not Brookhaven taxpayers.

How expansive is the building construction going to be compared to what is there now?

The total building footprint of the new campus will actually be less than what is currently on the site, but the new buildings and parking areas will be multi-story structures. This will allow us to optimize delivery of care, improve operational efficiencies and increase positive outcomes by reducing the amount of time our doctors and staff spend walking to provide care to our patients. Our buildings also allow us to create healing views scientifically shown to improve outcomes, while preserving greenspace and reducing surface parking throughout the campus.

Will there be public transportation available?

The campus will be served by MARTA bus routes, and we plan to accommodate ride sharing services and employees who want to use a variety of alternative transportation modes. We are also exploring direct shuttles to and from the Brookhaven MARTA station and transportation options that will allow our employees, patient families and partners to reach the campus through shared transportation and potential shuttles.

How many parking spaces will the campus provide?

Our new parking decks must provide quick access to the hospital and better navigation to reduce stress for our patients and families. Our phased approach to building parking will allow us to evaluate and accommodate changes to travel patterns while planning for future patient family needs. While we are planning for these parking spaces, we are also investing more than $40 million in traffic improvements to ensure that our campus does not create more congestion for the area. Children’s is also investing in bike and pedestrian infrastructure and investigating direct shuttles from the Brookhaven MARTA station to allow patient families, visitors and employees to arrive easily via a number of transportation methods.

How much greenspace will be available at the North Druid Hills Campus?

More than 20 acres of our campus is currently planned to be transformative greenspace. We will also have four times the number of hardwood trees that are currently on site, with miles of walking and biking trails on our campus, including a one-mile trail on the perimeter of the site. Scientific research suggests that a connection to nature accelerates healing. Having access to nature and views translates to 8.5 percent shorter hospital stays, increased pain tolerance and reduced stress, blood pressure and pain*.

What is the environmental impact of this new campus?

We anticipate a significant improvement over existing conditions due to reduced surface parking, more efficient building design, modern stormwater management techniques, use of modern construction materials, increase in vegetation and tree count and more. We have extensively studied wind and noise patterns as well to ensure minimal impact on our neighbors.

How will residential areas near the campus be impacted?

We have spent hundreds of hours listening to the community and working with the best architects, traffic engineers and landscape designers to develop an architecturally pleasing campus that serves the needs of our patients and families first and foremost, creates the best possible environment for our employees, and accelerates transformation along the North Druid Hills corridor. The current space – which houses aging, 50-year-old office buildings, acres of asphalt and minimal tree cover and landscaping – will be transformed into a pediatric healthcare campus in a forest with more than 20 acres of landscape with additional greenspace and miles of walking trails.

What about the financial impact of constructing this new campus?

The decision must be looked at through a 30-, 50-, or even 100-year lens. Through the careful stewardship of funds entrusted to us, we are able to plan a transformative investment in the health of Georgia’s children. It will be our largest investment and will position us to meet the long-term needs of Georgia’s children for decades to come.

What are your specific plans for transportation improvements?

Current plans call for more than $40 million in transportation investments around the campus, including assisting with funding for a redesign of the North Druid Hills/I-85 interchange (in partnership with Brookhaven and other government entities), beautification at that interchange, improving the underpass beneath I-85, a connection to the proposed Peachtree Creek Greenway and millions of dollars of improvements to Cliff Valley Way, Briarcliff Road, and other nearby intersections that will improve road capacity.

What is under construction currently on the site?

Remediation and demolition of the former Children’s office buildings at 1577 Northeast Expressway is complete, and construction on the Support Buildings has begun. Construction is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2020, and then construction can begin on the hospital at North Druid Hills.

What will the new campus offer?

The proposed plan for a campus at I-85 and North Druid Hills includes a replacement hospital, an adjacent medical office building and the previously announced Center for Advanced Pediatrics. New staff support offices will also be developed on the northwestern edge of the campus.

How many beds will Children’s have once the new campus is complete?

Children’s currently has more than 600 licensed beds at Scottish Rite, Egleston and Hughes Spalding combined. We anticipate we will need 750 beds by 2026 across our three hospitals. Our plans are to grow over time as necessary to serve Georgia’s children.

What improvements is Children’s making to its other facilities?

Children’s is investing in its facilities across the System. In 2017, Children’s will:

Open 60 beds, including 46 new licensed beds and 14 observation beds at Scottish Rite hospital

Expand the emergency department at Hughes Spalding hospital

Plan for additional beds at Egleston to meet demand

Open a new urgent care center in Hamilton Creek

Expand specialty services in Cherokee

And in 2018, we will:

Complete construction of the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, a 260,000-square-foot facility that will put complex care specialists, state-of-the-art technology and leading-edge research for outpatient care under one roof

Complete construction of an outpatient facility at Town Center

Open a new urgent care center in the Chamblee/Brookhaven area

Who are Children’s consulting partners on this project?

We have the opportunity to work with a number of partners who have embraced our goal of creating a transformative environment for pediatric healthcare. Those partners include: HKS, Inc. as lead architect for the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, and master plan; Atlanta-based HGOR with landscape design and assisting on the master plan; Walter P. Moore & Associates as structural engineering consultant; WSP as mechanical, electrical and plumbing design consultant; Kimley-Horn for traffic, environmental and infrastructure engineering; Lowe Engineers for on-site civil engineering; Covalus for medical equipment planning; EDI, Ltd. for information systems and technology; Synergent for supply chain and materials management flow planning; Brasfield & Gorrie as construction manager of the Center for Advanced Pediatrics and the replacement hospital; tvsdesign as lead architect for the support building; Hendrick, Inc. as interior architect for support building; DaVinci-Winstead Group as overall project manager for support building, medical office building and campus parking decks; J.E. Dunn as construction manager for support building, medical office building, central utility plant, parking decks, and site improvements; Galloway Law Group for land use and entitlement support; Morris, Manning and Martin, LLP as outside legal counsel; and Cushman & Wakefield for brokerage services.

What will happen to Egleston’s campus?

After the construction of the replacement hospital is complete, Children’s will no longer operate an inpatient facility at Egleston. The long-term purpose of Egleston’s campus will be determined during the planning process over the next several years.

How will this impact Children’s relationship with Emory?

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine have a long-standing partnership and will continue to work together to provide high-quality pediatric care, conduct groundbreaking research and train the next generation of physicians. Faculty/physicians from Emory University School of Medicine will continue to provide clinical care at all Children’s campuses, and Children’s will remain a primary training site for Emory’s pediatric medical students, residents and fellows.

What will happen to research?

Basic science research will remain on the Emory Campus.

What will happen to Scottish Rite and Hughes Spalding?

Scottish Rite and Hughes Spalding will remain key hospitals in the Children’s System.

What does this mean for private practice specialists?

Children’s has a long-standing history of partnering with the private practice physician community. These physicians are a core part of our history, and we plan to continue to foster these collaborations moving forward. We will work with our physician partners to determine how to effectively integrate clinical services across all three campuses.

What is the timeline for the hospital build?

Construction is planned to begin as early as 2020 and is anticipated to take five years.

Why not expand Egleston’s current campus?

We studied extensively whether it was possible to expand on the Egleston campus. Given the campus is 7.5 acres, there is no further opportunity to expand. As we looked at future demand and facility capacity required to meet the projected 10-year and 20-year needs of Georgia’s children and their families, Children’s determined a new campus at North Druid Hills – along with sustained growth over time at Scottish Rite – provides the system the footprint needed to grow.

Will the replacement hospital be named Egleston?

We will certainly honor the Egleston name in some way at the replacement hospital, but it is too early to say what the facility will be called.

What is Children’s plan to alleviate traffic concerns at the Druid Hills intersection?

We have committed to invest more than $40 million to improve transportation around the campus, with much of that investment focused on accelerating the potential redesign of the North Druid Hills intersection and improve the appearance of the intersection in the immediate future. We cannot afford to have our patient families waiting in traffic.

How can I get involved?

We envision a campus that will be a leader in pediatric care. To make that a reality, we need to hear from you! Please send us your ideas, questions and concerns. We also invite you to attend an upcoming community meeting – these dates will be shared on our website.

How can I make a donation?

How can I learn more?

Our website will be updated and expanded as additional information becomes available. You can also complete the form on the right to receive the latest updates.

What governments were involved in approving this project? Were regional planning bodies involved?

The City of Brookhaven approved the zoning and master plan of the project. Many other government entities were involved in the planning process, including DeKalb County, Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Both GRTA and ARC analyzed the hospital campus, and the associated reports can be found on their websites.

Have a Question?

If your question is not answered here, please let us know. We will update our Common Questions regularly.